Has anyone fished the Gila River?

[MichaelP]

I got my Jeep stuck in the Gila about two years ago. Never fished it and from what I can tell, game and fish wants to keep the native fish safe so that means not supporting the non native fish species. I think there is a no bag limit instituted on the Gila.

[catfisherman_eky3]

Welcome to the BOC from Kentucky its good to have you aboard

[galactic]

my dad stays up in saffard alot, people claim that there cats in there but i never seen any pictures or seen anyone do it. but then again i never fished the gila either, but it feeds san carlos lake so mabbe theres some closer to the lake..

[Pappy B]

I just got home from fishing the Gila.I grew up fishing that river.I caught one little flat today.The water was only about 50 degrees.I was down around Winkelman.There are a FEW good flats in the river but,few and far between.
Where are you fishing?Above SanCarlos or below?
Pappy B.:smile2:

[tofish]

way to go. i'm down here at yuma at the end of gila river. it's only about 3-6 inches deep down here. LOL. few deep holes if you walk it a long ways.
gary

[micah]

I went on a float trip with my buddy, some friends and his father from safford. They've been catching Flats out of the gila for years. They keep a lot of them but I've been harping on them about catch and release. Here's a few pics from our trip 2 years ago. 5-25-05.
I didn't have a scale but he was 42 " long. We caught several Blue cat's also.
We caught them in several places above the picture where the frisco meets the gila and below that too.
It was a hot trip even in May but it was beautiful and I can't wait to do it again.
Don't take anything you don't want to lose. There were some pretty rough spots but nothing too bad. We saw all kinds of game and lots of snakes.

[Zonaman]

...the Gila was loaded with Colorado Squawfish. These guys grew up to 5 feet in lenght. They made their way up stream as far as the Salt River. There are accounts of them getting into farmers irrigation systems and they'd pitch fork 'em out and use them for fertilizer out in the fields! Supposed to be tasty too.
39101 (click for larger version)
I'll bet they would have been something to try and reel in! Never hear much about the Gila nowadays though.

[Pappy B]

I went on a float trip with my buddy, some friends and his father from safford. They've been catching Flats out of the gila for years. They keep a lot of them but I've been harping on them about catch and release. Here's a few pics from our trip 2 years ago. 5-25-05.
I didn't have a scale but he was 42 " long. We caught several Blue cat's also.
We caught them in several places above the picture where the frisco meets the gila and below that too.
It was a hot trip even in May but it was beautiful and I can't wait to do it again.
Don't take anything you don't want to lose. There were some pretty rough spots but nothing too bad. We saw all kinds of game and lots of snakes.

SHHHHHHHH!
This might be my retirement home.Good thing you didn't mention the smallmouthbass.
Pappy B.

[galactic]

I went on a float trip with my buddy, some friends and his father from safford. They've been catching Flats out of the gila for years. They keep a lot of them but I've been harping on them about catch and release. Here's a few pics from our trip 2 years ago. 5-25-05.
I didn't have a scale but he was 42 " long. We caught several Blue cat's also.
We caught them in several places above the picture where the frisco meets the gila and below that too.
It was a hot trip even in May but it was beautiful and I can't wait to do it again.
Don't take anything you don't want to lose. There were some pretty rough spots but nothing too bad. We saw all kinds of game and lots of snakes.
nice pics!! i was always wondering about whats in the gila and you answerd my questions, ive been out in the Gila Box Riparian area, but didnt fish there but i was a nice spot for wildlife..im gonna try fishing it next time..

[Ahquabi_Master]

I fished the Gila over by Safford a few years back and caught one decent cat. It was probably close to 10 pounds. It was on some damn west of Safford I believe.

[shumanator20]

nice fish guys real nice

[shumanator20]

what did you guys get them on :roll_eyes:

[shumanator20]

did u guys them on a shed

[micah]

We spent 3 days on the float so all we had was worms. They did the trick. The nice thing about it was we were using all lightweight gear. My buddy caught the big one on a zebco 33 with 12 lb test.

Micah

[Waterdawg]

I bass fish the gila by Buckeye. I know there are cats because I have seen a small channel caught on a plastic worm. I have soaked some cutbait a couple of times and I can't keep the softshell turtles off the hook.

[jason berry]

The Gila River is loaded with flats Ive seen them go over 50#. there is hardly any water in it but I promise you its loaded with flaTS you might want to keep that river to yourself its one of my best flathead holes and I hardly ever took anybody with me just a select few. I have caught over 15 flats in the spring in one night in the gila. use a 1 ounce slip sinker with a live bluegill in one of the 6 foot holes if you can find one in some cover. I have some very awesome pictures in my garage from the Gila.

[tofish]

can you post some pictures for us?
gary